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"If you ever decide to sell, call me first" said my neighbor. A chance meeting in our adjacent driveways, a few minutes later, a handshake and sold.
Real estate agents and flippers routinely farm areas looking to buy houses that are "not on the market". low percentages, but it works. I often get mail offers to buy non-owner occupied properties.
Find a neighborhood you like and check the tax cards to see which properties are not owner occupied, or were bought a long long time ago. Even owner occupied, you can offer something for a right of first refusal. Neighbors talk to neighbors and something else in the area might pop up. Waiting for the perfect house to come onto MLS may never bear fruit.